American Apparel
We toured every floor of American Apparel’s “vertically integrated” clothing factory. The fact that we were even able to go inside the building set them apart from peers in the garment industry. We’re unaware of any other clothing manufacturer that allows consumers to observe work conditions (in Los Angeles and the United States). We saw in American Apparel what we’d like to imagine all factories possess – fair wages, healthcare, laughter. But from countless articles and experts we were able to speak with throughout the week we know American Apparel is the outlier. We may have read about unfair labor practices before, but seeing the process before our eyes gave us new knowledge- on exactly how complex supporting non-exploitative labor can be, and how we fit into that picture.
Latino Immigrant community:
“Just blocks from MacArthur Park, known for its gang-violence and drug-dealing, we toured a street that is a hub of immigrant culture on weekend nights. As the sun starts to go down, all the life hidden inside the shops and homes in the area turn out of doors into a lively festival-swap meet vibrating with movement. We met a guy named Ruben Nuno who moved his church into this part of town to minister to gang members and migrant families who are overlooked by the system and lost in gaps of poverty. The street was lined with outdoor vendors selling anything from what looked to be old donated Levis from a thrift store, to churros, to miscellaneous technology parts. We bought (with cash) and tasted delicious fajitas on fresh corn tortillas—and got a whole new understanding of “street tacos”. As we walked among what looked to be the entire Latino immigrant community of downtown LA, he shared with us the stories of many of those he had worked with over the years. The majority of these individuals, he said, were victims of labor trafficking and likely still trapped in debt-bondage situations.”
Paige Panter; Service Learning VISTA, co-leader
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